PlayStation Shift in Business Strategy Ends Internal Single Player PC Ports to Bolster Hardware Sales and Console Brand Exclusivity
The heads of PlayStation have declared that they will stop bringing internally developed single player games to PC. Head of the business division, Herman Hulst, declared this shift in business strategy during a meeting with the company on Monday. This has been confirmed by investigative journalist Jason Schreier and indicates the return to the exclusivity focused console market that the company has cultivated for years. In order to bolster hardware sales, the company has closed the door on future narrative driven games in the open market of PC.
All exclusive, internal single player titles will now be restricted to the consoles. Blockbuster titles such as Marvel's Wolverine and the upcoming God of War remake will now only be available on console hardware. Other titles that are being affected by this decision include Ghost of Yotei Saros and Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet. Sony intends to utilize these premium single player titles as system sellers in order to increase sales of hardware and maintain the distinct value of the PlayStation brand. Multi player titles and live service games such as Marathon, as well as games in which Sony merely acts as publisher will continue to be available on PC as per the specific release policies of those games.
The decision to revert to this strategy of console exclusivity appears to have been reached as a result of poor sales for previous PC Ports. Company insiders indicated that previous sales and earnings for bring exclusives to Steam have not outweighed what Sony considered to be a potential damage to the console's brand. In addition, executives see mobile and open platform hardware such as the Steam Machine as potential threats in the future, and do not want its top tier games to be accessible on platforms outside of their own ecosystem.
Based on the latest available data, the number 1 aim of this initiative appears to be ensuring that PlayStation remains the exclusive place to play high performance narrative games. This decision effectively ends the months of speculation over the future of PlayStation in the market beyond 2026. Although multi player and live service games will still continue to be developed on all platforms Sony wishes them to be, the essence of the PlayStation will be defined once again by exclusive, single player content.
